Lost cities / archaeology / ancient history

I find this news incredibly interesting:

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/10/ancient-river-network-discoverd-buried-under-saharan-sand

I've long suspected (without much evidence, of course, so almost pure speculation) that there's a lot more to what is now the Sahara than we know, and that a lot of human history is buried under its sands that has, for obvious reasons, not been uncovered before. I wouldn't be at all surprised if evidence of ancient river systems was discovered further east, too. Among other things:

• Archaeologists already know of many unexplored sites around oases in western Egypt and eastern Libya; I don't think that Egypt sprang to life only from the areas that we have traditionally identified as its range.

• I think that Roman influence in Northern Africa must have extended deeper into the continent than the thin strips of land that are typically shown in history books (part of the reason for the thinness of the strips being that there is little evidence for the extent of Roman influence, not to show that it was only over that comparatively small area), and I think that the area must have been much less desertified than today. Part of this speculation is because we know from elsewhere how bad human agricultural practices, such as a lack of crop rotation or monocultures, have contributed to environmental damage.

• I'm fascinated by Timbuktu, which I don't believe was nearly as isolated in ancient times as it is today. I think it is certainly one of the most remarkable places on Earth and one that had a much bigger hinterland long ago. Perhaps we'll uncover other lost major cities under the Sahara.

It's an area of research that will be fascinating to watch in years to come.

As I said, this is all almost pure speculation, though, and awaits much more actual evidence.